Creative Loafing (Atlanta) | Curt Holman

'Revolutionary Road' Needs Some Cheese for its Whinenew

Seldom has such an intelligent, impeccably mounted film seemed so far removed from the contemporary cultural mood as Revolutionary Road.

Creative Loafing (Atlanta) | Curt Holman | 01-09-2009 | Reviews

Tags: Sam Mendes, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

'Mystery Science Theater 3000' Creator Returns with 'Cinematic Titanic'new

In its fifth and latest DVD, Cinematic Titanic tears 1964's Santa Claus Conquers the Martians a new one. MST3K riffed on the same film rather confusingly in 1991, but the new disc features fresh jokes that improve on the earlier version.

Creative Loafing (Atlanta) | Curt Holman | 01-02-2009 | Movies

Tags: Mystery Science Theater 3000, Joel Hodgson, Cinematic Titanic, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

2008's Best Viral Videosnew

Here are five of 2008's definitive musical videos that didn't involve a cat flushing a toilet.

Creative Loafing (Atlanta) | Curt Holman | 01-02-2009 | Tech

Tags: web culture, humor & satire, computers & technology, viral videos

2008's Onscreen Hits and Missesnew

Genre entertainments invariably rake in more money than heavyweight film dramas -- that's what they're made for. The striking thing about 2008 wasn't just that the popcorn movies had more explosions and sight gags, but that they had more to say than the theoretically more substantial films.

Creative Loafing (Atlanta) | Curt Holman | 01-02-2009 | Movies

Tags: movies, Year in Review

'Benjamin Button' & 'Gran Torino': Showcasing Artful Codgersnew

Two of the holiday season's most prestigious, Oscar-baiting movies seem informed by the resentment of aging and mortality summed up in Dylan Thomas' poem "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night."

Creative Loafing (Atlanta) | Curt Holman | 12-24-2008 | Reviews

Tags: Clint Eastwood, Brad Pitt, David Fincher, Gran Torino, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Hollywood Product: 'The Spirit'new

Imagine the stark, monochromatic visuals of Miller's Sin City as a backdrop for the campy humor of Adam West's Batman series. Then imagine that the visuals hurt your eyes and the humor leaves you cold, and you get a sense of The Spirit as a wearying waste.

Creative Loafing (Atlanta) | Curt Holman | 12-24-2008 | Reviews

Tags: comic books, Frank Miller, The Spirit

Charlie Kaufman Strains His Brain in 'Synecdoche'new

For his directorial debut, Kaufman shoots the moon, facing themes of loneliness, illness, failure and mortality as if he'll never make another film again. If Synecdoche is about making life count, Kaufman practices what he preaches.

Creative Loafing (Atlanta) | Curt Holman | 11-12-2008 | Reviews

Tags: Charlie Kaufman, New York surrealism, Synechdoche, Synechdoche, New York

Hollywood Takes a Stab at Hollywood in 'What Just Happened?'new

I'm going to suggest one measure for judging a Hollywood satire: Does it leave you wanting to see the fictional film-within-the-film it dramatizes? If not, the L.A. story probably doesn't qualify as a success

Creative Loafing (Atlanta) | Curt Holman | 10-29-2008 | Reviews

Tags: Robert De Niro, satire, Barry Levinson, What Just Happened?

'Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist' Hits All the Right Notesnew

Nick & Norah's playlist may not be infinite, but it creates such good vibrations that it's definitely transcendent.

Creative Loafing (Atlanta) | Curt Holman | 10-01-2008 | Reviews

Tags: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, Peter Sollett

Director Clark Gregg 'Choke's on Chuck Palahniuk's storynew

Gregg's adaptation retains Palahniuk's gift of gab, but when it needs to step up and make a statement about sex addiction, contemporary maturity, America's moral decline -- anything, really -- Choke ultimately chokes.

Creative Loafing (Atlanta) | Curt Holman | 09-24-2008 | Reviews

Tags: Chuck Palahniuk, Choke, Clark Gregg, Sam Rockwell